Vicente Salas wins eNASCAR race after learning he'll get Truck Series nod

Vicente Salas got a huge jump on a green-white-checkered restart and was never really challenged the rest of the way, pulling away to win the Sunoco 120 at a virtual Darlington Raceway in Darlington, S.C., on Tuesday as part of the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series.

Driving the No. 11 Toyota for Tony Kanaan eSports, Salas led the final 75 laps to pick up his second career win -- and first since his inaugural victory in 2021. It was also the first eNASCAR win for Tony Kanaan eSports.

"It's nice to resolidify that speed," said Salas, who resides in Temecula, Calif., and actually competed in a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race this season, finishing 34th at Circuit of the Americas on March 23. "We've had such a dud (the) last two years, last two seasons."

Earlier Tuesday, Bill McAnally Racing announced that the 21-year-old Salas will race for it in the actual trucks race on Saturday at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Ill. But after his virtual victory, Salas was primarily focused on the rest of his eNASCAR season.

"I think the next few months are just going to be about building and getting more consistent," Salas said when asked about his approach now that he is in great position for the playoffs. "We've had the speed so far this year, the goal is to keep that up."

Salas entered the day tops in points among drivers without a win.

Casey Kirwan, who restarted second on the final restart but couldn't catch Salas, finished second in his No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, coming in 0.247 seconds late.

Kaden Honeycutt was third in the No. 8 Chevrolet, followed by a pair of Fords -- the No. 41 driven by Dylan Duval and Steven Wilson's No. 10. Wilson still leads the standings as the circuit's only two-race winner this season.

The series returns to action at a virtual Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa, on June 11.

--Field Level Media